TWENTIETH-CENTURY CLASSICAL MUSIC

Chapter 19, p. 437

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN

Discuss Impressionism and Expressionism in music

Describe works by nationalistic composers of the 20th century

Define 12-tone and aleatory, and explain the procedures related to each type of music

Describe trends in music toward the end of the 1900’s

VOCABULARY

Impressionism Expressionism Dissonance Tonality Atonal

Tone row Aleatory music New Romanticism Minimalism

MUSICIAN PROFILES

Claude Debussy

Igor Stravinsky

IMPRESSIONISM AND EXPRESSIONISM IN MUSIC

Music and visual arts were in a state of flux Constant search for new modes of expression Music followed the visual arts.

IMPRESSIONISM

In 1874 French painters (Claude Monet) created Impression – tried to show the natural effects of sunlight on objects

Impressionism: French style of atmospheric music of the late 19th

century Led by Claude Debussy

CLAUDE DEBUSSY

Sought his own distinct sound Fluid colorful and atmospheric Free of standard musical forms New harmony “The Sunken Cathedral”

10th piece from Debussy’s Preludes, Book 1 Paints a vague shimmering image like Monet

ACTIVITY 1, P. 439 CD 12:9

“The Sunken Cathedral” by Claude Debussy

How does Debussy create the impression of a cathedral? The massive chords using large portions of the

keyboard create an image of a large or massive structure

What is the musical connection to the imagery in the painting?

What musical decisions do you think were made to help create this imagery? Debussy used dynamics and tone color to create

imagery

DEBUSSY’S INFLUENCE ON RAVEL

Debussy’s music served as the model for later composers including Maurice Ravel

Bolero Famous classical music Transcribed into many versions A single theme is played throughout

ACTIVITY 2, P. 441 CD 12:10

Bolero by Maurice Ravel (video)

What musical characteristics give the composition unity? The rhythm pattern which continues throughout the

entire composition What characteristics create variety?

Dynamics, register, and tone color of the various instruments

EXPRESSIONISM

Expressionism: Musical style that subjective explored deep inner

feelings Dissonance:

Discord in music The Death Scene from Wozzeck

Opera by Alban Berg Uses dissonance with powerful effect Breaks the major-minor tonality:

The quality of a system of pitches Atonal:

Without tonality or a tonal center

WOZZECK

Adaptation of the play Wozzeck by the German dramatist Georg Buchner Wozzeck is a soldier driven to murder and

madness by society The music projects his disturbed mental state Throughout the murder scene in Act III a single

note is played on various instruments Activity 3, p. 442 CD 13:1

NATIONALIST MUSIC AND WORLD INFLUENCES

Russian Folk Traditions in Stravinsky’s The Firebird (1910) The Firebird is adapted from several Russian

fairy tales (video) This was his first ballet Plot on p. 443 Activity 4, p. 444 CD 13:2

How does Stravinsky’s music convey the drama? If you were to choreograph this ballet, how would you

describe the movement to your dancers?

MEXICO’S RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE

Manuel Maria Ponce (1882-1948) considered: “father of modern Mexican music” Asked by the government to create a

composition to celebrate Mexico’s heritage Wrote Instantaneas Mexicanas which includes

“Baile del Bajio” Activity 4, p. 445 CD 13:3

BLENDING OF STYLES

Music is influenced and enriched by the music of other cultures and times

Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) Loved the music of J.S. Bach This led him to compose a series of 9 works

called Bachianas Brasileras Each sets up a contrast between elements of Baroque

and Brazilian musical styles Bachianas Brasileras No. 5 Scored for soprano and 8 violoncellos 2 contrasting sections- a cantilena (a Bach-like

aria) and a martelo(a native dance)

ACTIVITY 6, P. 445 CD 13:4

Aria from Bachianas Brasileras No. 5 What elements of Baroque musical style did

he include? Melody is Bach-like tune Parts are treated independently polyphonic

What elements of Brazilian musical style does his music evoke? Expressiveness Folk-like

In your opinion, what is the effect of blending these two styles?

MID-CENTURY INNOVATIONS IN MUSIC COMPOSITION

12-tone music Classical composers became less dependent on

the diatonic scale: 7-tone major or minor scale that serves as a building

block of Western music Impressionist composers experimented with the

chromatic and whole tone scales Others too the concept further-sometimes

abandoning the tonal center Emphasis on form and structure, not melody

SCHOENBERG’S THEORY OF COMPOSITION

12-tone music emphasized from and structure, not melody

Schoenberg devised a method of composition based on the tone row: A series of notes comprising the 12 pitches of

the chromatic scale The notes could follow any order as long as

none were repeated until the row was complete

An entire piece would be comprised of the row(designated O) and the manipulations of it

12-TONE MUSIC

3 ways to manipulate the tone row Retrograde:

The notes of the row in reverse (R) Inversion:

The notes were turned upside down (I) Retrograde inversion:

The notes were played upside down and in reverse (RI)

Suite for Piano The row could be transposed and the durations

varied In the minuet for his Suite for Piano, Schoenberg

transposed the tone row and its forms 4 times Activity 7, p. 449 CD 13:5

AMERICAN AVANTE GARDE

Charles Ives Used simultaneously played melodies A Symphony: Holidays (1904-1913)

Four movements each named for a different holiday Activity 8, p. 450 CD 13:6 “Fourth of July”

ALEATORY MUSIC

Music in which composers deliberately leave parts of the composition and performance undetermined and at the discretion of performers

Piece for Any Number of Anythings Figure 19-5, p. 452 Activity 9, p. 451 Activity 10, p. 452

ACTIVITY 9, P. 451 - ASSIGNMENT

Piece for Any Number of Anythings figure 19-5

The conductor must decide: The order of events How long each will last The dynamic level of each event Whether any of the events will be repeated

Make these decisions and write down your answers for these questions.

ACTIVITY 10 P. 452 – GROUP ASSIGNMENT

Compose Aleatory Music Select three contrasting colors as inspiration for

you composition, then follow these steps. Discuss the emotion that each color suggests Experiment with ways to express these emotions with

sounds at hand Create a simple three-part descriptive(verbal) score

similar to Earle Brown’s Try performing each section with different tempos,

dynamics, length, and tone colors to discover the range of expressive possibilities

Perform the composition with different conductors, creating the form (order) as you procede.

LATE TWENTIETH-CENTURY MUSIC

New Romanticism: A musical style that combines tonal melody with

exotic textures and timbres John Corigliano

Pied Piper Fantasy A concerto for flute and orchestra inspired by a

Robert Browning poem (p. 453) The concerto is divided into 7 sections based on plot

events

ACTIVITY 11, P. 454 CD 13: 7 & 8

Pied Piper Fantasy “The Rats” and “ The Piper’s Victory” Describe the music according to mood, timbre,

dynamics, contrasts, and other qualities How does the mood change? What parts of the story might the composer be

expressing? What characteristics in music suggest the rats

have become hypnotized by the piper’s song?

MINIMALISM

Minimalism: A style of music that stresses the elements of

repetition with changes dictate by a rule or system

Due to 12-tone music and other styles the audience for new classical music dwindled

Philip Glass wanted to find a new path for musical expression He studied with Indian composer Ravi Shankar

MUSIC BASED ON REAL EVENTS

Glass made music relevant to today’s society by using political and social events

He included Indian, African, classical, and rock elements in his music Satyagraha tells the story of Ghandi Koyaanisquatsi (Hopi Indian term

meaning “life out of balance”) deals with the importance of respect for nature

Glassworks (1977) started as an instrumental studio work It became a commercial success It offers a wide range of expression

ACTIVITY 12, P. 456 CD 13:9

“Islands” from Glassworks– illustrates the simplicity of minimalist music How does Glass create variety with all the

repetition? What happens to the texture? Identify when these two musical ideas change

register. When does the ostinato pattern move to the high register and the long-noted melody to the low register?

How does Glass end the composition?

THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE WORLDS

Ellen Taafe Zwilich fused music from contrasting periods

Concerto Grosso 1985 Commissioned to commemorate the 300th

birthday of Handel Each of 5 movements takes material from the

opening movement of a Handel sonata for violin

ACTIVITY 13, P. 457 CD 13:10

Concerto Grosso 1985 What elements of Handel’s musical style are

present in the composition? Contrasts of dynamics, driving machine like rhythms

What elements of 20th century musical style are present? Layered dissonance, use of extreme ranges of the

instruments Does the juxtaposition of these two styles help or

hinder the expressiveness of the music? It brings new levels of expressiveness and style to the

music

REVIEW - TERMS

Aleatory music Music in which composers deliberately leave parts

of the composition and performance undetermined and at the discretion of the performers

Atonal Without tonality or a tonal center

Dissonance Discord in music, suggesting a state of tension

Expressionism Musical style that subjectively explored deep inner

feelings 12-tone music

Emphasized form and structure, not melody

REVIEW - TERMS

Impressionism French style of atmospheric music of the late 19th

century Minimalism

A style of music that stresses the element of repetition with changes dictated by a rule or system

New Romanticism A musical style that combines tonal melody with

exotic textures and timbers Tonality

The quality of a system of pitches Tone row

A series of notes comprising the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale

REVIEW – COMPOSERS AND WORKS Concerto Grosso 1985

Ellen Taafe Zwilich Bachiana Brasileras No.

5 Heitor Villa-Lobos

Bolero Maurice Ravel

The Firebird (ballet) Igor Stravinsky

Suite for Piano, Op. 25 Arnold Schoenberg

Considered the “father of modern Mexican music” Manuel Maria Ponce

Pied Piper Fantasy John Corigliano

“Baile del Bajio” Manuel Maria Ponce

Wozzeck Alban Berg

“The Sunken Cathedral” Claude Debussy

“Islands” Phillip Glass

Symphony: Holidays Charles Ives

20th century composer who incorporates Indian, African, classical, and rock elements in his music Phillip Glass

COMPARE IMPRESSIONISM AND EXPRESSIONISM IN MUSIC, CITING SPECIFIC WORKS AND COMPOSERS.

Looked outward for inspiration

Used new harmonic forms, timbres, and textures

Created atmospheric style

Free from standard forms

Subtle moods “The Sunken

Cathedral” by Debussy Bolero by Ravel

Looked inward to deep inner feelings

Broke away from major/minor tonality

Used dissonance Used harsh jarring

timbres Wozzeck by Berg

Impressionism Expressionism

EXPLAIN THE INDIVIDUAL COMPOSITION METHODS OF 12-TONE AND ALEATORY MUSIC

Based on tone row Row manipulate via

retrograde, inversion, or retrograde inversion

Emphasis on form and structure, not melody

Open structure Allows the

performers to determine how parts of the music will sound

12 tone Aleatory